Love Is The Order Of Authority?

I Corinthians 11: 1-3

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. 

Just as Paul has learned to live his life in a Christ-like way, he holds himself up as an example to follow. 

Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. 

Paul is commending them for following the directions he gave them when he was with them, teaching them by word of mouth because the New Testament had not yet been written. But Paul is now writing a lot of it, himself.  

But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 

God's order of authority is the basis of understanding how everything works. God the Father has authority over God the Son, and God the Son has authority over God the Holy Spirit. They are all equal, and they are all God. But there is order in their relationship.

So we need to understand this order of authority. It comes down to Christ having authority over the man, and the man has authority over his wife, who in turn has authority over the children. 

Jesus commended the Centurion for his faith when he demonstrated an understanding of how authority worked (Matthew 8:5-10). So conceding that God has authority over us to tell us what to do is foundational to our faith and trust in Him. And it will go a long way in our getting along with one another as we live here in this World. 

We are to submit to one another, to give one another authority over us instead of setting ourselves up as the authority over ourselves. Satan tells us that we are smart enough to make our own decisions, and we are our own gods over ourselves. And we are accountable for our choices and must experience their consequences. But we are not the authority over ourselves to decide what is right and wrong according to ourselves. 

We are to consider the other as having precedence over ourselves, and to love them as Christ has loved us, whatever it may cost us. 

And in the family, there must be the order of who has authority over whom. 

Having authority doesn't mean that they are better than the other, because in the Godhead all three are equal in being God. And those in authority are not to lord it over the other, but fulfill their duties in the attitude of serving the other. 

O my Father, please help us to understand Your order that You placed into this Universe, including our Earth and us upon it. Teach us how to submit to the authority over us, and to exercise the authority we have over others in the humility of knowing that we are not better than them. 

Father, Your Love is the order You placed in Your creation. Teach us how to love one another as You have Loved us, yielding the authority when needed, and exercising authority in gentleness and compassion. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!